Much has been said and written about the Dodgers depth and how that makes them a very dangerous team. I do not think that there is a question (at least not for me), that the premier builder of the 40 man roster is Andrew Friedman. During his tenure, over the last five years in a 162 game season, the Dodgers have 485 wins, more than any other team in MLB. …
There has certainly been a lot of optimistic discussions going on throughout the Baseball World about the possibility of MLB in 2020. I think most of us want to believe that there will be MLB this year, but have doubts in conjunction with those hopes. There has been a lot of speculation as to how a season would play out. How many games? How many divisions? What size roster? How…
There’s not much to do with the MLB season on hold, the NBA season on hold, the NCAA Tournament canceled, High School Tournaments in limbo, schools closed, and restaurants and theaters are persona non-Grotta. My youngest son and I spent the day plumbing his house, the house he has had since he was 18 (he’s almost 21 now) and has totally gutted and rebuilt it. It was built in 1900…
For years, Dodgers blogs have been a sacred place where Dodger fans went to lament their fate, cry in their beer, pontificate how bad the team, coaches, managers, general managers, and owners were, and generally write about how they could do a better job than whoever happened to be in charge. When Andrew Friedman was hired by the Dodgers as President of Baseball Operations, he was greeted with jeers, smears,…
One of my all-time favorite movies is “The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn” starring Sidney Poitier. In it, Poitier plays Noah Dearborn, a 91‑year old carpenter who lives a simple life and existence, detached from modern life. His only interest is woodworking, at which he is very gifted. In his hands, woodworking tools are not just tools, they become instruments for creating works of art. Poitier, who is also a…
Ninety-Three! That’s all you need to know. Clayton Kershaw was clocked at 93 MPH in yesterday’s game. The last time he did that was over 2 years ago! This was his first Spring Game and he was giddy after it… because he knows there is more left in the tank. 94? 95? Maybe… but every MPH of separation between his fastball and slider is HUGE! He sat at 91-92 most…
On Saturday, AC provided us with an amazing analysis of questions to be answered this spring. It prompted me to go back a few years and see what the pressing questions were in the spring for the past few seasons and how they were answered: Last year, the top questions facing the Dodgers heading into Spring training were: • Is Clayton Kershaw definitely in decline? I would feel safe to…
Time for Dodger Baseball. I like the sound of that as we begin Spring Training games today against the hated Giants. We all know ST games are meaningless in wins and losses, but I still want to see a win in every game. If you compete, compete to win. Before I get into ST, I want to offer my response to the apparent skepticism about the Dodger pitching. Are there…
Clayton Kershaw was called up to the Show in 2008 at the age of 20. In 107 IP, he allowed 109 hits, struck out 100, with a 4.26 ERA and a 1.495 WHIP. Of course, he went on to build a Hall-of-Fame Career! Julio Urias was called up to the Show in 2016 at the age of 19. In 77 IP he allowed 81 hits, struck out 84, with a…
If everything comes together as planned, 2020 could be the magical season we all hoped for since 1988. 2017 looked to be that season, but the cheating Astros stopped it. 2019 was elite, but they just lacked something more… 2020 it is! This could very well be epic… one for the ages. It’s a great time to be a Dodger fan! The Dodgers didn’t get Gerrit Cole, but Plan B…